Echidnas and Origins
by Soahc 0
Summary: The story of how Chaos and the Echidnas came to be. I'm sorry it took so long to get chapter 15 up, but here it is!
1. The Purpose of This Document

The Purpose of This Document

_Disclaimer: I do not own Tails, Chaos, Tikal, or Pachacamac._

_Note: This story is intended to explain many things that occurred long before the Sonic the Hedgehog series. If some things don't make sense at the beginning, bear with me._

Hello. My name is Miles Prower, but most of you know me as Tails. I come before you today to answer some of the oldest mysteries of our time.

In the aftermath of the Chaos incident, I began to wonder about Chaos' origin. I reasoned that, if he were a god, as the Echidnas claim, how could he be defeated by mere mortals not once, not twice, but five times over, especially when, every time except the first, he was tapping into the power of at least two Chaos Emeralds? Impossible, I told myself, and began looking into Echidnian history for the day they first encountered Chaos. I thought perhaps that would give me some answers.

But nowhere did I find a record of that first meeting, or any mention of it, even in the Echidnas' religious texts. It was then that I began wondering where the Echidnas _themselves_ had come from. It was no secret that _Homo animalia_ came to be as a result of genetic experiments slightly before World War Three, but none of its other subspecies are quite like the Echidnas. No other group had formed their own culture, their own religion, or their own _nation_. The Echidnas did all three. I wanted to know both how and why.

However, none of the surviving records from the 22nd century mention the Echidnas at all. I begun to think that it would be so much easier if I could just interview those who witnessed it, but of course none survived. That's when it hit me. There _was_ a survivor: Chaos, the alleged God of Destruction.

Knowing the link between Chaos and the Emeralds that bear his name, I decided to use their pull to track him down. Eventually, I found him and persuaded him to tell me all he knew. As it turns out, he knew the whole story‭…


	2. Prologue

Prologue

_I found Chaos, and I asked him, "So, this is where you came from?" I gestured towards the fields of alien grass and the strange liquid creatures that inhabited the planet. There were no buildings, no statues, nothing to suggest sentient beings lived there, except for the cuboid crystal too perfect to be a natural formation._

_He nodded, and I heard his voice for the first time. It sounded as though someone were speaking from underwater, and yet I could somehow hear every syllable clearly._

_"Yes. This was my first home," (the name that followed is something that can be neither spelled nor pronounced in our language). "In English, it means, 'sunlight circle.' But this cannot be the question you wanted to ask."_

_Wondering what his reaction would be, I said, "The Echidnas...how did they become what they are today? Did they separate themselves from the humans for some reason?"_

_He stared at me for what seemed like hours, although I'm sure it was only minutes. After this, he said,_

_"Very well."_

_He stood up, and explained,_

_"My species has found more quick and effective methods of communication than the manipulation of sound waves. It is also how I know much of what I know...in reverse, of course. Its use is reserved for occasions where language just doesn't explain it well enough."_

_He placed his hand on top of my head, and it began to melt. I resisted the urge to resist. When it had melted completely, forming a sort of membrane around my head, I was surprised to find that I could comfortably breathe through it. After a few seconds, images began to flash before my eyes while what seemed to me sound was coming from them. It was like watching a movie in super fast forward, and yet I somehow memorized every gesture made, every word said, every bead of sweat produced the moment it came onscreen._

_When it was finished, the membrane reformed into Chaos' three-fingered hand, which he took off my head before sitting down again. After a few seconds, I let three words escape my lips:_

_"Oh my god..."_

Chaos looked up toward the judge. He wanted to break free of the plastic bubble that imprisoned him and rip his brain straight out of his head. One of the leaders of the corrupted government that ran his planet, Kremnir (as close as the Roman alphabet can spell it) was about to hand Chaos one of two things: exile or death.

"Chaos Uunthar," said Kremnir, "for twenty-one counts of treason, including the continued allegiance to one of the main rebel forces against the government, I hereby sentence you to live on the third planet from the Zarkos Three. If you should give any information that leads to the capture or execution of one or more persons important to the rebels' cause, you shall be allowed to return on maximum probation."

Chaos was incredibly glad. He would be allowed to live. He didn't listen to the formal drone of Kremnir; the only thing that mattered was that he would be able to continue serving the rebels. No matter how long it took, he would return to this planet, Bliaras Two, and continue to serve the rebellion.

Hours later, he was taken from the bubble and put into one of the crystals his race used for travel. As soon as he got in, the crystalline spaceship zoomed away from Bliaras Two and toward Zarkos Three. As he came close to the planet, he could see the individual planets of the system. A small, red one, then a medium, tan one. Next to it was the green and blue sphere that was to be his home...


	3. The Living Weapons

1The Living Weapons

President Richards looked from the piece of paper in his hand to the subject of the paper, standing about three feet away from them, to the Commander of G.U.A., who was looking at him with an expression of uttermost pride.

"This is impressive," Richards told him. "Give your scientists a raise. That's an order."

The Commander chuckled, and said,

"You don't have to tell me twice. It's incredible what those guys can come up with when it's really needed."

Richards turned back to the paper.

"It is. Super-hard skin, claws, the power to fly short distances, able to lift an elephant without effort, can outrun a cheetah and live without water for two weeks...I just have one question." Richards looked at the Commander again. "What the heck is an echidna and why are these things based off them?"

If the Echidna in the room was offended by its being called a "thing," it didn't show it. The Commander took a breath and explained,

"Three reasons. First, echidnas are related to hedgehogs and porcupines; their hair is for both heat and defense. Second, they're naturally anteaters, so we don't have to give them food. Third, like platypuses, they lay eggs. That means we don't have to worry about pregnancy leave."

If it was possible, Richards looked more impressed than before.

"Good choice. So, you're mass-producing now?"

"Yes. We should have enough to make a new military division soon."

"Very well. You may go."

The Echidna left the room. As the Commander was about to walk out the door, Richards stopped him.

"Have you thought through any safety measures in case they go rogue?"

The Commander smirked.

"Of course. At birth, we implant micro-bombs into their brains. With the touch of a button, every living Echidna will die."

"Good work, Commander."

"My name is John."


	4. Why Do We Fight?

2 Why Do We Fight?

The Echidna nicknamed Skullbash looked out upon the plains of Africa. He felt pity for the souls here who had been hit by the Alliance nukes so early in the war. The bombs had been aimed at every part of the world, toward every one who was not a member of the Alliance. Many countries had been able to stop the bombs aimed at themselves, but non-superpower countries–including all of Africa–had been wiped off the globe. Now, members of the Alliance, clad in radiation suits, inhabited the area and were ready take the rest of the world. Skullbash and his squad had been given radiation suits and sent to take what had once been Sierra Leone, while other squads were closing in all over Africa.

One of the Echidnas asked, "Why do we fight?"

Skullbash turned to look at him. He was new to the field, and had not yet been given a nickname. His number was 12-D. Skullbash raised an eyebrow.

"Have you been taught what the Alliance has done, boy?"

"No, sir."

Skullbash gestured to the near-empty land. "Do you know why this land is so empty, when the human demand for land is so high?"

12-D shook his head.

"It is because a human organization, known as the Alliance, made this place uninhabitable and killed all its people."

"Why does the Alliance fight?"

Skullbash was about to groan when he realized he didn't know the answer. He told 12-D so.

"Do the humans we work for know?"

"I don't know."

"Why don't you ask them?"

"Perhaps later."

"I think we should know before we fight any more. If we communicate, we may be able to solve this nonviolently..."

Skullbash wanted to scream. When he had been trained, he was told to obey all orders, no questions asked. When someone was wanted dead, they were killed. When someone was wanted interrogated, they were captured. But this was sheer lunacy...

"Didn't you listen to what I just said? This Alliance killed these people unprovoked. They wiped all life from this continent. Whatever their reasons, that is reason enough for us to fight."

Every Echidna in the 16-man squad was watching 12-D with expressions of amazement. No one had ever asked one question except "What do you want?" and "Where do we go?" This was unheard of.

"There _has_ to be a reason. They must want something really bad if they'll kill this many people for it."

Skullbash wanted to scream. But he wasn't leader of his squad for nothing. Breathing heavily, he said,

"Tell you what. When we kill this group, you can inspect their bodies. Maybe you'll find something."

Of course, Skullbash had simply intended this to crush all hope of solving the mystery. He never expected the search would actually turn something up...


	5. A Secret Revealed

3 A Secret Revealed

Skullbash looked at the camp. Sixteen humans. Three wielded machine guns, one appeared to have grenades, one had a flamethrower, and the rest had semiautomatics.

"This ought to be fun," said the Echidna called Fortum.

"The grenadier and the flamethrower should be the biggest dangers," said Sparks, the group genius.

Skullbash didn't need reminding. He knew as well as everyone else that their super-strong hides might be bulletproof, but they were certainly not fireproof.

"Right then. Shadow, Fortum, take care of the grenadier. Sparks, Mole, get the flamethrower. The rest of us'll stay back here until they're both down."

Shadow was practically a chameleon; that ingenious Echidna could blend in anywhere. He smeared dirt on his and Fortum's bodies before beginning to crawl toward the shadowed side of the base. Fortum followed.

Mole, on the other hand, had a different method. He had become one of the most famous Echidnas in the world by inventing, practicing, and perfecting the technique of using one's knuckle claws to burrow. Sparks could measure distance almost as well as a computer, and Skullbash had no doubt that he and Mole would pop up directly behind the flamethrower.

They didn't disappoint him. Shadow had been able to get right to the flamethrower without trouble. No sooner did Shadow stab his heart than the humans became aware of their presence. The grenadier had been about to throw one of his grenades when he fell right through the ground. Skullbash had been wrong. Sparks hadn't led Mole behind the human; he had led him _under_ the human. This turned out to be much more effective, because the duo jumped out and threw two other humans into the hole before the grenade (which had never been thrown) exploded, killing the three humans but leaving the Echidnas unharmed.

The other nine echidnas were already charging. It was a matter of seconds before every human there was dead or dying. 12-D was already pulling off the radiation suit of one. As he searched the suit, he pulled something out. It appeared to be a small radio, the recently invented kind that the strongest radiation in the world (which happened to exist right then and there) couldn't interfere with. He was staring, transfixed, at a point slightly below the antenna. Others were joining him, some gaping in horror. Sparks had finally found his voice:

"Skullbash, sir, I think you'd better see this..."

Slightly curious, he walked around so he could see what they were all gaping at.

It was the insignia of the Guardian Unit of America. The G.U.A.


	6. The New War

4-The New War

President Richards was tired. After the initial attack on Africa, they had gradually lost contact with every Echidna squad. No one knew what had happened. The Alliance was winning the war. The situation was getting desperate.

"Sir," said Commander John, bringing Richards back to reality, "Someone has demanded that you join a video chat with them."

"So?"

"Sir, he claims to be...what was the phrase he used?" He looked at a paper in his hand. "Chieftain of the Echidnas."

Richards looked over, raising an eyebrow. "Chieftain?"

"Chieftain."

Richards sighed, and got up. "Redirect it into here."

"Yessir."

John walked out, and, seconds later, an Echidna popped onto the screen. Richards stared. The Echidna had patterns of white dyed into his red hair, looking like tatoos. His quills, which were, in their ordinary state, pointing outward in all directions, were pulled back into dreadlocks. Somehow, he looked deadlier this way.

"Hello, Mister President," said the Echidna in a businesslike voice. "I am Libertor."

"Hello, Libertor," said Richards. "Would you care to explain why you and the other Echidnas disappeared for so long?"

"We became wiser," he said simply. "Now, listen to me and do not make this harder than it needs to be. The Echidnas no longer answer to you or to the United States."

Richards' reaction was predictable.

"NO LONGER...YOU...We made you, you ungrateful rodent!"

The Echidna raised his eyebrow. "You are correct. You did make us." Then he continued, "Three days from now, we will begin a journey through the USA. We will not harm anyone; we will just go through to take any non-human tired of a second-class status."

Richards took a deep breath. The species _Homo animalia_ had indeed taken the place of the working class in the States, doing all the grunt work and making life better for everyone else. In the short months since its creation, the American economy had become dependent on them.

"You can't. You've given me warning, so I'll give you some. What military remains here will be set against you..."

Libertor chuckled. "You created us to be perfect soldiers...living weapons. We are far superior to you, now matter what weapons you use. Lastly," his voice returned to business, "you will arrest the leader of the Alliance and remove him from off-"

"WHAT?!?" This demand was downright insane. "You think I know who he is? You think I have the authority...?"

"Actually, you do."

Liberator looked upon Richards' confused face with a mix of impatience, expectation, and pity.

"Don't you know what the Alliance's government's true name is?"

"What's in a name?"

"In this case," said the Echidna, "rather a lot."

He held up a badge.

"I was in the first squad to arrive in Africa, and the first squad you lost contact with. I found this under the radiation suit of every Alliance soldier."

The badge said "GUA".

Richards looked into Libertor's eyes. He knew that he wasn't lying. He ran over to his desk and pressed the security intercom.

"Arrest Commander Johnathan Grey. Now."

He released the button. There would be time to explain later.

"Thank you. I'll...consider it."

"If you resist us, we'll consider it an act of war, and react accordingly."

Richards nodded, and the screen went blank. He returned to his desk and collapsed into his seat. If he did nothing, the economy would collapse. If he fought back, the country would collapse. There was no way out of it. No, there was a way.

"Someone trace the signal they sent!"

Something they couldn't fight against.


	7. Enter Chaos

5-Enter Chaos

Chaos got out of the ship, scanning his surroundings. He had landed in a barren wasteland in one of the large southern continents. _Perhaps there was a war here_, he thought. _This level of radiation on a planet like this is just...unnatural._

He took his first breath on this new planet. He found that he had no trouble collecting nitrogen; on the contrary, this planet's atmosphere seemed to have massive amounts of the stuff. _Maybe living here for awhile won't be so bad._

As he walked away from the ship, it self-destructed. It was standard exile procedure; he wasn't surprised. He needed to find water if he was to be here long, so he started looking. He found something he didn't expect.

_Interesting...I'm not alone._

There appeared to be a close-knit society not far from where he had landed. They didn't appear to be anything like him, though. They had skin, which was yellow and slightly baggy. There was a small patch that stood out on the head of each. Being careful not to be seen, he looked directly into one of these patches and saw inside the true creature, which looked extremely strange.

_Their yellow skin is artificial,_ he realized. _It must be to protect them from something...are they perhaps sensitive to radiation? I've heard some of the species we've encountered are..._

Some of them began to point to the sky and scream. The others looked up and screamed, too.

Chaos looked up. It was a rocket bomb; apparently the design was universal. He remembered the wars which had plagued his world for so long.

_I cannot allow another innocent species to die or be enslaved because of mindless warfare!_

Thinking fast, he realized the bomb was much smaller than the kind his people had used to level nations only several centuries (Earth time) earlier. Perhaps...it was a risk, but he had to make it work.

The liquid alien reached up, extending his arms to grab the missile. With an enormous effort, he stopped it. Then, as an afterthought, he pulled his arms back and, slingshot-style, flung it in the direction it came from.

He looked at the strange, semisolid creatures, who were staring back at him with a mix of confusion, amazement, and admiration. Then, they cheered.

An hour later, Chaos was sitting in an anti-radiation tent with their leader. As soon as he understood this, he put his hand on Libertor's head, allowing it to melt. With this, he simultaneously learned the English language and explained why the heck he'd made a bubble around Libertor's head.

When this was through, Libertor asked, "May I know the name of our savior?" Chaos told him. "Thank you, Chaos. Now, I think you have a right to know about the war you've just gotten yourself into."


	8. You're Done

6-You're Done

15 minutes later, Washington, D.C.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY BLEW UP HOUSTON?"

Despite the way he sounded, Richards was not furious, but terrified.

"Sir, minutes after it should have hit the Echidnas, the missile...came back. It was going too fast to stop, and by the time our sensors picked it up, it had reached Houston. There don't appear to be any survi-"

"Of course there were no survivors!" screamed Richards. "It's a hydrogen...effing...bomb!"

"Sir," came another voice, "the Chieftain of the Echidnas wishes to speak to you."

Richards made an effort to compose himself. "Kay," he said in an almost calm voice, "ready."

Libertor popped on his office screen. Behind him were standing another Echidna-possibly an advisor- and...

The President stared at the strange, blue creature, which stared back with pure green eyes.

"Richards, you're done. We've given you more chance than you deserved, and you responded with a nuclear missile. The invasion of the United States will take place two days from now, as planned."

Libertor noticed Richards' stare.

"Oh, how could I forget? The Echidna behind me is Skullbash, my advisor. The creature you're staring at is our new ally, who calls himself Chaos." At this point, Libertor smirked. "He's the one who stopped the missile with his bare hands."

"How is that possible?"

"I don't know, but if you're considering double-crossing us, you may wish to reconsider. He's practically a god, he's so powerful."

Richards stammered. This couldn't be happening.

"Anyway, if there is no resistance, we will do nothing else but take the non-humans who wish to go. Any resistance from the military, and we know who to blame. We are entering first through the southern tip of Texas."

Before Richards could object, the image disappeared. He sat down, suddenly exhausted.

"Sir, the Alliance has driven us out of East Europe!"

_Very_ exhausted.


	9. Journey through the States

7-Journey Through the States

Two days later, the Echidnas walked through the border with Chaos at their forefront. They traveled through the city of Brownsville, Texas. There were enough of them that it only took half an hour to get the humanoid animals in the town. Only one of the humans was foolish enough to resist, and he was quickly knocked out.

"Oh no you don't!" he had said. "That there rabbit's my property!"

Skullbash, who had been the one about to free the rabbit in question, had replied, "No, she isn't."

"Yes it is!" the man had shouted. "I bought it, fair and..."

At that point, Skullbash had rushed up to him and...well, bashed his skull, which immediately knocked him out.

Their entire journey was similarly easy. In fact, by the time they had cleared Texas, they had picked up enough people to split into multiple groups, with a few Echidnas per group to lead and fight any aggressors, so that they could free several towns at once. Once they had cleared the continental states (plus DC) they "borrowed" planes in order to get to the four other states (The non-continental US states at the time were Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Islandia.) and then met back in Texas. There, they were surprised to see that an angry mob had formed. Instead of the stereotypical everyday objects being used as weapons, they had guns. Machine guns, some of them, and they appeared to know how to use them.

"Haven't they learned their lesson?" murmured Libertor, but he sounded worried. The Echidnas may be bulletproof, but most of them were not Echidnas, and there were not enough Echidnas to protect from an attack and go attack the humans. The Echidnas did have their weak spots, after all...the weak eyes, the opening mouth...

"I'll take care of this."

Libertor turned to see Chaos.

"That may work...are you bulletproof?"

"Have you ever seen someone shoot into the water before?" came Sparks' voice. "It decelerates very, _very_ fast."

"At any rate," said Chaos, "I only have one vital organ." He gestured toward his brain.

"Okay," said Libertor. "Go get 'em."

Libertor remembered the day, not so long ago, when he had watched Sparks, Mole, Shadow, and Fortum attack the humans. They had impressed him. Chaos was better. He absorbed all shots fired at him without pausing, and incapacitated two humans at a time, twice per second. It took perhaps fifteen seconds for him to clear the way.

The animals were worried because they had heard the land beyond the US had been bombed repeatedly. They were surprised to find that the land beyond the border felt no different, aside from the fact that there was no life but for insects.

Finally, a fox pup named Hannah couldn't hold in her curiosity.

"Excuse me, mister Echidna?" she said to Sparks. "Isn't deadly radiation supposed to cover Mexico and Central and South America?"

"It did," he said, surprised that the child, who had to be no older than four, knew a word like "radiation." "But then Chaos here," he gestured toward the liquid life-form, "went ahead of us when we came, calming the radiation on the path so that what remains is less powerful than the stuff TVs give off."

"Wow," said the fox. "What is he?"

"We don't really know," said Sparks truthfully.

They traveled for days until at last the group reached the village that would become the capitol of the Great Tribe: Detwelf, which Skullbash named.


	10. Last Desperate Attempt

8-Last Desperate Attempt

The President was still looking for a way out of this. The Echidnas were the only obstacles; them and that strange creature, Chaos. As Richards racked his brain for a solution, he remembered one. How could he have overlooked it all this time? Commander Grey had told him himself...

But would it work? He now knew Grey had lead the Alliance for quite some time...had he planned them to betray the US all along, only pretending there was a method of emergency destruction? Richards remembered the day Grey had escaped from America, with so many GUA soldiers with him...had he perhaps stolen the device, or else destroyed the instructions? It was desperate, but once the Echidnas were out of the way they could start working on a way to kill Chaos, and once _he_ was out of the way...

He ordered his assistants to find the instructions. Some looked on computers, some looked through files, some searched what had once been the GUA's laboratory. Finally, the instruction manual was found.

Destruction of the Echidnas

First, go to a code panel and give your access code.

To destroy one Echidna, type 90210 and then its serial number.

To destroy one squad of Echidnas, type 902310 and then the squad number.

To destroy all Echidnas, press 9027894562.

Richards was exhilarated. There was a code panel right there on his desk. He needed to shove this into their faces before they died. So, he requested a video session with Libertor. In Detwelf, Libertor saw who was calling and accepted.

"What is it now, Mr. President?"

"I would just like to let you know that you are about to die. I have at my disposal a..."

"...a code that will ignite explosives in each and every one of our brains, killing us instantly."

The President showed his surprise. "How did you know?"

"I know because I know the original Echidna Commander Grey showed to you. He left the room before Grey told you about the bombs, but the scientists did give him excellent hearing, and before you type the code, know this: before we reached DC, we came to a town with closed hospital. Closed, but not quite empty. We had some animals who had some knowledge of medical procedures put us to sleep so Chaos could reach into our brains and pull out the explosives through our eye sockets. We then carried the individual bombs to DC, where we strapped them together and buried them under the White House. Are you now prepared to push the button?"

Richards, who had been dialing the code, looked straight into Libertor's eyes, and Libertor stared straight back.

"I don't believe you," he said before pressing the final button. Outside his office door, several people screamed. The bomb had not been big enough to engulf the White House in fire, but it seemed the bomb's sudden disappearance had caused the part of the building it was under to collapse in order to fill the hole. The entire House slanted toward the center, and Richards stumbled before regaining his balance. Other, less coordinated people fell to the center where they were crushed under falling desks and cabinets.

Richards looked in horror at Libertor, who said, "Truce?"

Richards nodded, too stunned to speak.

"As I thought. You have the Alliance to worry about after all, Mr. President."

The screen went dark. Richards sighed, hearing the sound of sirens outside.


	11. Chaos' Emerald

9-Chaos' Emeralds

So, Chaos watched the civilization grow. While all the animals felt gratitude towards him, the Echidnas were more gracious than anyone. As the years went by, the Echidnas became more and more distanced from the rest of the animals, probably because they thought the rest a little too human. A little too greedy, a little too egotistic. It didn't extend to racism for most, though. Many heroes and great chiefs in the Echidnian society were not Echidnas at all. Indeed, the first Emerald Guardian–but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Chaos thought of the Echidnas–and those who were Echidnas at heart–as his children. He taught many the art of prophecy, how to open their minds to visions of the future. He helped them build their society from the ground up. When the time came, mere months after the escape from the United States, to elect the Grand Chieftain, Chaos was the most popular candidate. However, he insisted that Libertor (second place with 45 of the votes) take the post, saying he wished to guide them, not lead them. However, Libertor appointed Chaos as an advisor, a post he accepted, and Skullbash became Top General of the army (an establishment which didn't fight its first war until Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik came to power millennia later). Chaos would have stayed forever if it hadn't been for the Bliarian Civil War.

The Echidnas and other animals thought it was a meteor, but Chaos' eyes were better. Past the flame, he could see a perfect cube. No meteor could attain that shape, let alone keep it in the vigorous process of entering an atmosphere the size of Earth's. As he watched it in the Grand Chieftain's office, he turned to Libertor.

"Grand Chieftain, I must go."

Libertor turned to him. "Any reason you care to disclose?"

Chaos shook his head.

"I respect your judgment...come back soon."

Chaos hoped he could. It was either a member of the rebellion to tell him the war was beginning, an interrogator to attain all his knowledge, or an executioner to...to do his job. Either way, he did not want the beloved Echidnas dragged into it.

As it turns out, it was the first. Chaos recognized a good friend of his, Tranaar, walking from the ship.

"Chaos, my good friend," he said in their native tongue, "have you been well?"

"Very," he replied. "it's good to see you again."

"My," said Tranaar, "Zarkos Three has a lot of nitrogen, doesn't it?"

"Earth," replied Chaos, without thinking.

Tranaar turned to him. "What?"

Chaos hesitated. "That...that's what the natives call it."

Tranaar looked confused. "Here," said Chaos, putting his hand on his friend's head and showing the events that had transpired.

"Well, you've been busy. Well, it'll be a pleasure to get back home, won't it?"

But Chaos was uncertain. "They may need me. What if the humans attack them while I'm gone? The last of their governments just disappeared, but there is still much hatred."

"So create power crystals. Teach them how to use them. Let them take care of themselves."

"Good idea."

"LEAVING?"

Libertor's reaction was exactly as Chaos predicted. He was torn between the feeling that Chaos should help his own people and the fear that there may be still humans with the intelligence to produce and use nuclear weapons.

"You...I...we..."

"Calm down," said Chaos. "Listen, I'm not going to leave you defenseless. Among my species, there have been a few individuals who have poured their own energy into crystals. My friend is currently searching for suitable ones. I suspect my energy can be stored in only seven crystals, which I will entrust with you. It will only take a day to produce the crystals, then I'll rest for a day while telling you how to use the crystals, then I'll leave with my friend. I don't know how long I'll be gone. This may be the last time anyone of this generation sees me, Libertor."

Once again, Libertor was torn; this time between peace because the animals would still be safe, and sadness because he would probably never see Chaos again.

"So...the only thing that remains is what to tell the others."

"Just tell them that there are urgent matters that require my attention. I don't want to be followed."

"Even if we had the technology, we can't fight beings like you. Only the bravest, most foolish person on Earth would try."

The next day, Chaos took the first of the jewels Tranaar had found. He had taken the liberty of cutting the green gem. Chaos stuck it, sharp end first, into his stomach. After a few hours, he took it out and handed it to Libertor, who saw it had begun to glow faintly.

Libertor took it to his office. Before he could enter, he heard a young girl ask, "What's that?"

Libertor turned to face the voice, and saw a huge crowd of people standing in front of the building. Taking a deep breath, he said, "It's Chaos' emerald," and began to explain.


	12. Fifty Years Later

10-Fifty Years Later

Chaos' square ship streaked toward the Earth at unimaginable speed. The war had taken much less time then he had thought it would, because the Rebellion was in fact just one organization plotting the downfall of the government; when the attack began, members of those other organizations pitched in and later informed their superiors, who joined forces with the Rebellion to make a force the likes of which the government had never seen.

But Chaos wasn't thinking about this. He was thinking about seeing Libertor again, and continuing to help the Echidnas build their civilization.

As he his the atmosphere, he began steering it toward Detwelf in northern South America. Unlike his previous visit, he was now in a ship he could control, although how he even got into it we may never know, because it was a square lump of solid crystal.

About twenty feet from the ground, he began slowing down so that he hit the ground at a minuscule two miles per hour. As he got out (again, don't ask me how), he looked around, the first thing he noticed were gardens. A few had flowers, more had foods, but most had strange gray things he could only assume had some sort of culinary or medicinal use. Strange gardens these were, too, with grass growing all around the gray things. He wondered if they had some symbiotic relationship that made it necessary to grow grass near them, and decided to ask later.

As he looked at the people, he realized something was wrong. The Echidnas were looking at him strangely, as if trying to decide if they were glad or furious. Their fists were clenched, and they were tense, as if readying themselves. The face of one woman caught his eye. She had a line of pale flesh running across her cheek, easily distinguishable from the rest of her skin. As he tried to decide what it was, he remembered something similar developing to one of the Echidnas in America when he had been grazed by a bullet. A scar, he had called it. Then it clicked in his mind.

These people were battle-hardened.

A quick look around confirmed it; all of them, even the children (whom the adults were stepping in front of), carried daggers in a sash on their belt or leg. To make sure, he swung his arm in an unnatural direction, as if to attack. Every one of them struck a battle pose, some even unsheathing their weapons. When it became clear he was not attacking anyone, they put down their guards and sheathed their daggers.

Finally, Chaos reached his destination, which was the building that had been both office and home for Libertor. It was guarded by Echidnas with...

He did a double take. The Echidnas guarding the door were holding primitive and clearly homemade guns, but they were still guns. They could do nothing to harm him, of course, but if the Echidnas had resorted to guns...

He walked up to the door and knocked. The guards seemed to realize shooting him would just be a waste of bullets, and tackled him instead. He tried to push them off without hurting them, which was hard because each had a death grip on one of his arms. The door opened, and an Echidna stepped out, though it wasn't Libertor.

"Let him go," the Echidna said. "Come inside, Chaos."

He obeyed, and the Echidna closed the door.

"I'd offer you a drink, but we really need all we can get, and from what I've heard of you, you don't need to drink."

Chaos shook his head. He knew he had to ask the question, but he couldn't get the words to form.

"My father spoke very highly of you."

"Your father?"

"Libertor."

"Can we see him?"

The Echidna, whose resemblance to his father was now so obvious Chaos couldn't believe he'd missed it, hesitated, then said, "Very well."

But instead of taking Chaos to another building, Libertor's son took him to one of the strange gardens. He saw a few others in them; they were staring solemnly at the plants, or else holding their head in their hands.

The Echidna led him to a plant larger than the others. Close-up, it looked like it was made of stone. Chaos expected to keep going, but his companion stopped at the large plant, staring at its face. Chaos looked at it, too, and saw that it was engraved:

R.I.P.

Libertor

Our leader, our hero, our friend.

Chaos wondered what this was all about when it occurred to him that the Echidnas were semisolid creatures. Their bodies would not just disappear when they died. They had to go somewhere.

"R.I.P.?" asked Chaos.

"Rest in peace."

Chaos turned to him, overwhelmed by sadness. "What's your name?"

"Marduk," he said.

"Marduk, what happened here?"

"Greed."


	13. the Seven Chaos, the Seven Thieves

11-The Seven Chaos, The Seven Thieves

"Well," said Marduk, "It began about fifteen years after you left. Libertor was still leader, and he was a great one too. There was just one thing people were angry about: while disease was kept at bay, poverty experienced only by a handful, a steadily decreasing number, and famine nothing more than a bad dream, Libertor absolutely refused to expand beyond need. While we lived happy lives, to some it was unimaginable that, with an entire continent to expand to, our population was contained in a few small cities. The seven greediest people in the nation used this to their advantage."

They were back in Libertor's‫–_No,_ thought Chaos, _Marduk's office._ Marduk had thought it best to continue the conversation in private, but Chaos didn't know why; surely everyone but him knew this.

He ticked them off on his fingers. "Aspu, Tiamat, Ereshkigal, Erra, Cronos, Fomor, and Mammon. I'm ashamed to call them Echidnas. They said they could lead better than Libertor, that they could get everyone exactly what they wanted."

"You're not telling me everyone fell for that?"

"Of course not. But, two months after the election, he was assassinated. The evidence pointed to both Skullbash or Sparks, but I'm sure it was one of _them_." He said this with a look of disgust on his face. "Anyway, after that we were split. Many of them followed those seven. I'm thankful to say a small number followed my mother, Ishtar, because soon after those thieves carved up South America, it became clear that they didn't want what was best for their people. Unfortunately, the things they used to calm the radiation also proved to be efficient weapons: the Chaos Emeralds."

"Is that what they're calling them now?"

"Yes. Anyway, the people were helpless to stop them, though a few escaped. Soon, of course, they began to have babies. Their leaders quickly snatched them and brainwashed them. We don't know the full extent of this, but the one person we managed to capture alive seemed to think you were a god."

"No doubt they wanted it to appear that they were divinely appointed."

"That's what we thought, too. We were going to try to convince him, but when we got there we saw he'd been beaten to death with his own arm, which was ripped out of its socket. It's amazing what Echidnas can do to each other," he said, although he sounded more sad than amazed. "I never thought we'd be at war with our own people..."

"At war?"

"Yes. These seven, as I've mentioned before, are very greedy. They want each other's land, but they are too evenly matched, and alliances never last more than a day. The population here is large enough to tip the balance in any direction. The only reason Detwelf hasn't been taken over is the soldiers often focus on fighting each other rather than us, so by the time they _do_ attack us, there are only a handful of them left."

"I can beat them."

Marduk stared at him.

"You've never seen me fight, have you? Nothing on Earth could possibly even come close to beating me."

"That's a little arrogant, isn't it?"

"It's truth."

Marduk stared into Chaos' bright green eyes as Chaos stared into Marduk's unusual purple ones.

"Very well," said Marduk after a long while, and pulled out a map of South America (complete with borders) and a pen.

"We are here," he said, dotting one point on the map. "As far as we know, they are here, here, here, here, here, here, and here," he said, dotting one point in each of the other seven divisions, which seemed to be as far away from each other (and Detwelf) as possible.

"I'll be back in eight to fourteen days."

"You're that confident of your abilities?"

"You're talking to the guy who stopped a nuclear missile with his bare hands. I can handle seven power-crazed Echidnas."

He came back, victorious but weary, fifteen days later.


	14. Chaos' Decision

12-Chaos' Decision

"What happened?" asked Marduk when Chaos came into his office/home, clearly exhausted clutching a brown bag that hopefully contained the Chaos Emeralds.

"They were smart fighters," he replied, dropping the bag on his desk and sitting down. "I took the first one, Fomor, by surprise, the fight didn't last long. By the time I'd reached the next capitol, though, word seemed to have reached the six others, who summoned their entire armies to fight me. They quickly realized my weak point: my brain. They attacked over and over. I curled up into a ball to protect my mind and waited. Eventually, they dismissed the armies and took it in turns to watch over me. Three in the day, three at night. After a week, they began to argue. Some thought I'd learned my lesson, some thought they should kill me. Well, the soldiers that were standing by weren't too happy about either of these."

"I wonder why," said Marduk.

"I'm their god, remember? Those creeps probably told them it was a test or sparring match or ritual or something, but that was definitely the end of whatever illusion they were under. They quickly turned on their leaders, and I jumped up to grab the Emeralds."

"Are they...?"

"All seven are now dead. I only killed Fomor myself."

"So, what are you going to do with the Emeralds?"

Chaos looked at the bag. "I've been thinking. I could destroy them, but they could prove useful."

"Against what?"

Chaos looked at Maduk, and something in his eyes made Marduk genuinely scared, though not of him.

"I know you think my species must be the strongest in the galaxy, but it's not. I've seen things that will make your flesh crawl. There are creatures lurking in the darkest depths of the galaxy, on comets, some even inside the stars themselves. Few have been able to make power crystals, and I am not going to crush my efforts into dust and fling it into the vacuum of space with things like the Black Arms roaming around."

Marduk didn't ask what the Black Arms were. After that little speech, he didn't want to know.

"So, I'll simply guard them. And, just in case, I'll make another crystal so powerful, it will be able to control the others. But that will require something huge, we may not be able to find it on this planet..."

Silence ensued. Then,

"Your ship's made of crystal, right?"


	15. Angel Island

13-Angel Island

Chaos carefully carved the crystal that had once been his ship. Into a larger version of the green Emerald. He spent an entire day giving it power within the safety of Marduk's office. Just in case, he "programmed" it to scatter the other Emeralds if ever they were used together. The only thing that was left to decide was where to _keep_ the Emeralds. Chaos had decided to guard them, especially the Master Emerald, which was powerful enough to expand the other Emeralds' power or shut them down. He brought them to a small area on the south North American coast (_The humans_, he reasoned, _will be no danger at all._)

He took out the eight Emeralds and ordered them to separate the area from North America. They cut through the land as easily as good scissors cut through paper. Then he used their energy to lift the newly created island into the air. However, he did all this too hastily. If he had surveyed the site thoroughly, he would have known his island was connected, underwater, to another island where Echidnas thrived.

He knew when the island had been lifted to its predetermined height, though. He turned and instantly knew what must have happened. Why, some may ask, did he not just cut off the Echidnas' portion of the island? Well, what sane person would send something of that size that had once been supported from one side tumbling down, knowing that it was populated? No one.

Soon, some Echidnas came over, demanding that he see their chieftain. Chaos said,

"Only if he comes to me."

The chieftain did come. Her name was Ishtar. The first thing he noticed was the unusual orange fur tone. The second was her understanding nature.

"...so, you see," Chaos said as he finished his explanation, "I don't dare drop the island."

Ishtar nodded. "I will have my people build you a home."

"No, that's not nece-"

"I insist."

Only a month later, Chaos looked upon his new home.

"Sorry," said Ishtar apologetically, "but they seemed to think a shrine would better suit you needs than an ordinary dwelling."

"It's alright," said Chaos. "I don't need either, although this will do rather nicely."

"If you need anything," said Ishtar, "The village is just a little way east of here."

Chaos took the seven Chaos Emeralds and placed them on the pedestals the Echidnas had built. Then, he placed the Master Emerald in the middle of the shrine that sat in the exact center of the pedestals, and sat on it. It felt almost like a throne. Looking around him, a flower exactly one foot east of the shrine caught his eye. But before he could place its name, the flower was gone.

It was gone because, one hundred and twelve Terran years ago, a long war on a distant planet had come to an end. The war was between two species that were not native to the planet. The native species of the planet had barely survived, with only a few members left.

The loosing side of the war decided that, rather than let their enemies use them as slaves or meat, they should give the natives freedom. They took the creatures to their home planet where they built a ship, big enough for all of the creatures. Before launching it, the creatures would be exposed to sleeping gas before being put in suspended animation.

When the time came to launch it, they released the sleeping gas and realized that they didn't know where to send the things. They also realized that some idiot had put the control panel on the inside, because one of the creatures hit their head on it as it fell asleep. His head punched random coordinates, and the ship instantly launched. The things were put in suspended animation as they left the atmosphere.

Those coordinates just happened to be the exact location of the flower Chaos was staring at at the time he was staring at it. He ran forth to see what the creatures were. When he saw they were frozen, the took them out into the sun to dry.

What strange creatures they were, too. They were small and about humanoid. Their bodies were mostly sky-blue, although the tips of their handless arms and feet, as well as the tops of their oddly-shaped heads. Accompanying each was a yellow ball that floated above the tip of the aforementioned heads. Chaos could only assume they were part of the anatomy of the creatures, though he couldn't see what they could possibly be used for.

By an extreme coincidence, the creatures' language is incomprehensible to earthlings because all its words are pronounced the same to our ears: chao.


End file.
